Although voter ID laws can be used as
overt methods for keeping minority groups
and the poor from the polls, Josh Scacco,
assistant professor in the Brian Lamb School
of Communication, is paying attention to the
subtle messages that voters take from both
proponents and opponents of such laws.

Looking at media messages in Texas during
the 2014 midterm election, Scacco has found
that certain messages, both for and against
voter ID laws, can have an effect on political
efficacy—the amount of faith citizens have in
their governments, and their sense that they
can understand and have an impact
on government.

“Everyone is looking at the laws, but what
about the messages? We found that messages
matter,” Scacco says.

Those in favor of voter ID laws argue that
voter fraud is rampant and that these laws can
stop it. They also assert that having the proper
ID is no big deal, since it’s the sort of thing
required to drive a car or purchase alcohol.

Those against such laws argue that levels
of voter fraud are insignificant and that the
laws are not meant to combat fraud, but are
instead an obvious attempt to discourage
certain people from the polls.

Scacco found that when proponents argue
that voter ID rules are not egregious because
the same documentation is necessary for
other common activities, the message sent is
that voting isn’t a big deal either. “If voting
is compared to something as common and
everyday as driving a car, it can take the
specialness away,” Scacco says.

Opponents of the laws discourage political
efficacy through the argument that voter
fraud isn’t a major issue. Scacco found that
this message puts voters off by implying that
governmental bodies are wasting time
and resources.

“People rationalize that and say, ‘If this istrue, and there is no problem with fraud, whyis the government putting so much effort intovoter ID laws?’” Scacco says.“The real message Scacco wants to sendis that politicians should know that eventiny nuances in how they argue an issue canhave serious effects on political participation.“Proponents and opponents need to know thattheir messages have an effect. While it is notgoing to have an effect on trust in government,it is going to have an effect on politicalefficacy,” Scacco says. “The framing of an issueabsolutely matters.”Scacco’s findings come from experiments inwhich groups of people were given fake newsstories about voter ID laws containing differentmessaging and then tested to measure theirfeelings of political efficacy. The next step in hisresearch involves curating and analyzing mediareports from several national and Texas outlets.Max Renner, a graduate student in theBrian Lamb School of Communication workingwith Scacco, says he hopes to gain a betterunderstanding of how those messages changevoters’ attitudes. “People are reading thesemessages all the time,” Renner says. “It’simportant to understand who thosemessages are coming from and how theywork on their audiences.”Voter ID laws in each state can be categorized in two ways: first, by whether the state asks fora photo ID or accepts forms of ID without a photo, and next by the action required for voterswho don’t have an ID. In some states, voters without an ID can cast a ballot by signing anaffidavit or vote on a provisional ballot so that election officials can determine eligibility afterthe polls close. In other states, voters can vote on a provisional ballot, but may be required toreturn to an election office with acceptable forms of ID. Illustration courtesy of the National Conferenceof State Legislatures.